Circle and Tether freeze $318,000 in stablecoins tied to Bitget hack wallet
Stablecoin issuers freeze wallet linked to the $351.6 million Bitget hack
Circle and Tether have frozen stablecoins held in a wallet linked to the $351.6 million hack at the crypto exchange Bitget. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to hold a steady value, usually tied to the U.S. dollar. USDT is issued by Tether and USDC by Circle.
Circle blacklisted the address, which the block explorer Etherscan labels "Bitget Exploiter 8," at 05:00 UTC on Friday, according to onchain data cited by CoinDesk. A block explorer is a public tool for viewing activity on a blockchain.
The wallet holds about 170.47 ETH, 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC, leaving roughly $318,000 in stablecoins stuck. Blockchain security firm MistTrack said Tether has since banned the wallet as well.
The key numbers behind the freeze
- Circle blacklisted the wallet at 05:00 UTC on Friday, the day after the hack.
- About $318,000 in stablecoins is frozen: 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC.
- Other addresses tied to the exploiter still hold more than 63,000 ETH, according to MistTrack's tracker. Those funds cannot be frozen because no stablecoin issuer controls ether, the native token of the Ethereum network.
- Bitget says its user protection fund holds more than $464 million and covers the loss.
Bitget CEO says attackers broke into a backend system
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the attackers compromised a backend system in the exchange's wallet infrastructure. She said they spoofed transaction data and triggered the authorization process to move funds out. She ruled out a private key compromise.
Chen also said Bitget's user protection fund, which holds over $464 million, covers the loss.
Circle acted faster than it did after the Drift hack
Circle's response this time contrasts with how it handled April's $285 million Drift hack. In that case, the attacker moved about $232 million in USDC from Solana to Ethereum using Circle's own cross-chain transfer protocol.
Critics, including the blockchain investigator ZachXBT, said Circle could have moved faster to blacklist wallets and freeze funds. Circle has said it freezes assets when it is legally required to do so.
What is confirmed so far
- Circle blacklisted the "Bitget Exploiter 8" address at 05:00 UTC on Friday, onchain data shows.
- MistTrack said Tether has banned the same wallet.
- The wallet holds about 170.47 ETH, 218,023 USDT and 99,990 USDC.
- MistTrack's tracker shows other exploiter addresses holding more than 63,000 ETH that cannot be frozen.
What is still unclear
The supplied source material does not name any suspect or identify who carried out the attack. It also does not state how much of the $351.6 million has been recovered beyond the roughly $318,000 in stablecoins frozen in this wallet.
Why the freeze covers only a small part of the loss
The amount locked by Circle and Tether is a small share of the total stolen funds. Most of the money sits in ether, which no stablecoin issuer can freeze. That limit is central to the story: stablecoin issuers can block their own tokens, but they cannot block ether or other assets they do not control.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.